Beautiful Nightmare
by HannahbananaJane
Summary: For those of you who actually liked NCIS Red. They were partners, friends, roommates, but somewhere along the way, they fell for one another. After she has a nightmare and needs him to calm her down, they fall into something deeper than anything they ever experienced. CLARE/DAVE Summary sucks, but if you liked NCIS Red just a little bit, please try it out!


**I'll be surprised if this story gets any views (and even more if it gets any likes or reviews), but I've been working on this since I watched NCIS LA's episode Red Part II and was hoping someone might take a chance to read it. Please review, to tell me you liked it or hated it or if you didn't loved NCIS Red or hated Red. Please.**

**So while watching Red Part II, I feel in love with the characters Clare and Dave. I found them fascinating and could see them having a beautiful friendship with hints of something more. If you do happen to like this, make sure to tell me because I have a lot more ideas for this pair that I'll only publish if people want it.**

_"You ready, Dave?" Clare glanced at her partner, her gun raised and steady, waiting for his affirmative nod._

_ Dave returned her adrenaline filled look. "Ready."_

_ They jogged to the porch and kicked down the front door, quickly sweeping the rooms before their suspect had a chance to escape. Clare and Dave got to the end of the hallway and were faced with two closed doors side-by-side. They entered the opposite rooms at the same time, working more efficient by splitting up._

_ "Clear," Clare called from her room after checking under the bed, in the closet, and even behind the curtain. She was putting her gun back on her waist when she paused and realized that Dave hadn't said anything in return to her safe call._

_ She pulled her gun back out and slowly crept to the room Dave was in, mentally cursing when the hardwood floors loudly creaked and she prayed that she was the only one that heard it. Every bone in her body was telling her something was wrong and she needed the element of surprise._

_ Seconds before she was going to enter the room a man jumped out into the hallway, holding Dave tightly against his body as a human shield, a gun pressed against her partner's skull. She felt her blood boil at seeing Dave in danger as she repositioned her gun, aimed and ready to shoot._

_ "Put down the gun!" Clare and Dave had been looking for Jeff O'Neal, but it looks like they found his crackhead roommate, Jorge Rodriguez._

_ "Jorge, the only way I can put down my gun is if you pull your gun away from my partner."_

_ "No way. If I put down my gun, it's over." Jorge's eyes darted to the front door, desperately looking for an exit._

_ "Jorge," Clare kept her voice intentionally calm, "we aren't here for you. We are looking for your roommate, Jeff."_

_ He shook his head in disbelief. "You're lying," he cocked the gun, showing her that he would seriously shoot her partner if she didn't put her gun down and let him escape._

_ Except Clare didn't think he really would. His forehead was covered in sweat, his hands were unsteady and shaking, and his face showed clear fear. He was terrified and she didn't think he was willing to risk serious jail time by shooting a cop just to get a drug fix._

_ But she sure as hell wasn't willing to risk Dave's life on that._

_ A druggie needing a fix created an extremely dangerous and hostile situation._

_ "We came to talk to Jeff about his brother. We didn't even know you were in town, Jorge. If you just let my partner go, we will leave and look for Jeff at work."_

_ "If I let your partner go, you'll arrest me." Clearly, he didn't want to go to jail._

_ Clare glanced over at Dave, silently asking if he was okay. With no verbal words, he assured her that he was fine and she could do this. She could save him._

_ But from here things quickly headed downhill._

_ "Jorge-"_

_ "Shut up!" Jorge shouted at her, his eyes flashing with a dangerous mix of anger and panic. "I-I need to think!"_

_ Clare shifted her focus back to Dave. He nodded, just enough that she would be able to see without Jorge feeling the movement, but she immediately understood._

_ "One," Dave mouthed, his eyes staying on hers._

_ Clare sent a silent prayer that Dave would be okay._

_ "Two... Three."_

_ On three, Dave kicked Jorge in the shin and used the pain his captor endured to duck just before the bullet left the chamber of Clare's gun. But Dave wasn't fast enough and the bullet hit him in the chest. He staggered back from the force and Jorge used Dave's pain and Clare's mortified shock to escape. Clare ran to her partner and caught him just before he fell to the ground, not caring for a moment that his shooter was getting away._

_ All that mattered was Dave._

_ The blood had drained from his face leaving the ginger an abnormally pale color while blood leaked out of his chest._

_ "Dave, I'm so sorry," Clare wept as she quickly took off her jacket and put it on the wound, applying pressure. She freed one hand to use her cell phone to call for an ambulance while continuing to add pressure as she tried to stop the blood from running out of his body. "It's going to be okay, Dave. Help is on the way, okay? Stay with me. God, please stay with me."_

_ Dave groaned from the pain. "This... fuckin' hurts, Clare."_

_ "I know, I'm so sorry."_

Keep talking, Dave.

_ "No, no, don't you dare close your eyes on me, Dave," she shouted when his began to close his eyes. "Stay with me!"_

_ Dave opened his eyes with a sound akin to a whimper and suddenly Clare was struck with the realization that this might be the last time she saw that unique set of chocolate brown eyes. She might never see that laughing smirk again or that teasing smile that she loved or hear another sarcastic remark from her partner. She shook those thoughts away as she heard the sirens from the ambulance and felt the hope bubble in her chest. He was going to be okay._

He had to be.

_ "Dave, help is almost here. Just hang on a little while longer, okay?"_

_ "Clare..." Dave grabbed her hand that was still pressing on his wound and weaved their fingers together, his beautiful eyes never leaving hers. "Clare, I..." Before he could finish his thought, he was closing his eyes and going completely still._

_ "No, Dave!"_

"No!"

Clare bolted up in bed with a gasp, breathing heavily, covered in sweat, and she was shocked to realize that she was actually crying. "It was just a dream, Clare," she repeatedly whispered to herself in the empty room, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart and racing pulse.

She got out of her bed and walked the four steps to the bathroom, throwing cold water in her face in an attempt to wake herself up as she stared at her naturally pale reflection in the mirror. Her eyes looked dead; full of grief, like Dave really had just died.

Clare sighed, knowing what she had to do, for her own peace of mind. She tiptoed out of her room, making sure not to make a sound, and headed towards Dave's room. She opened the door, closing it softly behind her before she drank in her partner's appearance, ruffled hair and all. She took a step towards the bed and smiled fondly at him sleeping peacefully.

Clare wasn't sure how long she stayed there, just watching him breath in and out but the tension eventually faded out of her body and she was suddenly left exhausted.

She knew it was a bad idea but she was still terrified that if she went back to sleep, she would wake up and find out that she really had shot and killed him. So, ignoring her rational insincts begging her to be realistic, Clare crawled into bed with her best friend, sitting on the very end of the mattress in between his spread out legs.

Dave attempted to roll over in his sleep only to find something- or someone- blocking his movement. Clare held her breath when he began to stir and prayed for the right words to explain her compromising position.

He blinked, his eyes drowsy from sleep adjusting to the darkness, and jumped when he saw Clare staring at him, laying in his bed.

_She had never been so relieved to see a pair of brown eyes in her life._

"Uh, Clare, what are you doing?"

Instead of jumping out of bed and running to her room in embarrassment and shame, she crawled closer to him. Clare straddled his legs, ignoring his surprised intake of breath as his hands automatically went to her hips to steady her. She lightly touched his face, relishing the feel of his scruffy beard against the palm of her hand.

"God, Dave," she quietly groaned, ignoring the way his hands tightened their hold on her at the sound of her sensual noise, "you scared the hell out of me."

Understanding flashed in his eyes. "Clare, I'm okay. I'm good."

Clare's dream- _nightmare_- was pretty much true, or at least most of the bare facts were. They had been in a dangerous situation earlier today. In reality, there had been no Jorge and Dave hadn't been shot, but he almost was and it terrified her to no end.

She swallowed the growing emotions, "but you almost weren't."

Dave took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together and squeezing lightly. "Our job is dangerous, we both know that, but today, right here, right now, I'm good. I'm safe, I'm healthy," he sent her a pointed look as he continued to look at her like she was his hidden treasure, "and I'm happy."

He pulled her in for a close hug.

_ (too intimate for friends or just partners)._

Dave released one of her hands to run his now free one through her soft strands of hair, kissing the top of her head lovingly. Clare savored the feeling of his heart beating against hers as she held on tighter to him, nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck to try and hide the tears threatening to spill.

"I'm okay, Clare," he whispered near her ear. She shivered when his lips accidentally touched a particularly soft spot behind her ear- and _god_, that felt _so damn_ _good._ She shifted without even thinking about it, tilting her head to give him better access to her ear while he kissed, nipped, and licked as he found pleasure in locating her sensitive spots.

Clare always knew Dave felt what was between them. But there were strict rules against inner-team relationships, especially in their job (their whole team lived together, for christ sake). So they hid their strong feelings behind half-smirks and meaningful statements, longing glances and endless flirting.

But in this moment, neither cared how inappropriate and unprofessional it was for them to be doing this. Those thoughts flew out of the window when Clare crawled into bed with him. All they cared about was how _right_ this felt- and _finally_- and god, _why the hell did they wait so long._

Clare pulled away enough to see his eyes and was amazed to find that they were filled with lust and something that looked a whole lot like love.

"Dave..." Her reserve was almost shattered when she felt his hot breath on her lips as he slowly leaned forward.

"Tell me you don't want this," he demanded quietly, keeping his eyes locked with her ocean blue eyes. "Tell me, Clare," she inwardly groaned the way he said her name- his voice husky and so sexy and _fuck,_ "and I'll stop right now."

Clare took her time studying him, from his hair still ruffled from sleep to the adorable freckles scattered on his nose to his lips that were so perfect they could have been carved by Michaelangelo himself.

"I can't," she finally responded, her confession whispered quietly.

Dave grinned smugly as he leaned closer to her, his head dipping to meet hers, their noses brushing against each other. "I knew you couldn't resist me," he told her, his voice filled with cocky pride.

_ "Shut up, Dave," _Clare laughed as their lips met in a soft kiss which quickly turned into a sigh of bliss as she closed her eyes and leaned closer to her partner.

The kiss was soft and gentle, merely a brush of lips; almost hesitant, as they were asking theirselves if they were really ready for this. In short, it was everything a first kiss should be- sweet and sincere enough to make your heart beat out of your chest while passionate enough to make your toes curl and leave you wanting more.

Dave pulled away first. Their eyes met and, sharing only one lust-filled look, they pulled each other closer and met in another kiss, this one lacking hesitancy and instead abundant with unfiltered passion.

It was soft and hard, passionate and loving, gentle yet incredibly heated. Clare bit Dave's lip, soothing the sting with her tongue. In response, he captured her bottom lip between his own and sucked on it until she moaned with pleasure he released it and she was quick to replace it with her tongue in his mouth. Their tongues dueled for dominance while their lips pressed harder against each other, neither wanting to ever separate after realizing what they had been missing out on.

Dave's hands couldn't stay in one place for long; moving from her silky blonde strands to her curvy hips before landing on the back of her neck. Her own hands twisted in his t-shirt as she tugged him closer and angled herself better to deepen the kiss.

Eventually they began to run out of oxygen and Dave pulled away from her tempting lips with a soft smack. Clare gasped when his mouth performed sinful acts on her neck, biting and licking and kissing. He worked his way up to her jaw, pressing hot kisses on her collarbone along the way.

_ "Fuck, Dave," _she moaned his name, all thoughts of how they shouldn't be doing this here and the team will hear them, all of it abandoned her mind when he sucked her tongue into his mouth. Clare, never one to be left out, pulled his gray Navy shirt up and her hands wondered all over his hot, toned skin and _ohmygod_- if she knew _that _was under there, she would have done this _ages ago._

Dave groaned when her palms gently scrapped up against his nipple and he began to make his way back down to her neck, leaving hot kisses in his wake. As amazing as it felt while he was sucking her pulse point, Clare pulled his head up to meet his lips in an impatient kiss.

She could feel his growing arousal against her as he let her take the lead in the demanding kiss. Clare forced her tongue through his lips while her teeth scrapped against his lip, drawing a loud groan to rumble through his chest and as a result, vibrating her own. She did dirty things with his tongue that she learned to do in high school and he pulled her impossibly closer, slowly lying down on the bed with her on top of him, their lips still connected.

All of the sudden, Dave flipped them and she was on the bottom, giggling as she looked into his eyes, his orbs dilated and nearly solid black with lust.

"God, Clare," he whispered sexily as he began to pull off her shirt, her arms raised to help speed along the process. "The things you do to me..."

"Dave," he stopped his movements at the sound of her voice and just stared at her, hair fanned out across his pillow, lips swollen from kisses, blue eyes turning shades darker. In short, she was _absolutely breathtaking._ "I... I want you." _Now._

Their lips met once again as they showed feelings they hadn't said outloud yet, confessions of unrequited love made clear through their passionate tenderness. Their lips separated for a split second while Clare quickly pulled off his shirt and then his hands slid to her bra, fingering the lace as he moved unattach the clasp on the back and their tongues had just touched again when they were suddenly startled by light blinding them. They pulled away from each other like there was a fire, staring at Kai with equally guilty looks.

Kai stared at them, his expression equally embarrassed and mortified as his mouth opened and closed a few times, trying and failing to find words.

"Um..."

Clare and Dave didn't dare glance at each other, knowing the passionate fire was still burning and they wouldn't be able to resistance their unexplainable pull towards each other if they so much as looked at each other.

"I, uh, heard a noise." Kai looked awkwardly embarrassed and Clare could only imagine what they looked like.

"Kai, it isn't-"

Kai silenced her with a look. "Do you really think you can deny what I just saw?" He turned around, mumbling, "it's like I just caught my parents making out," under his breath, the disgust clear in his voice, before he shut the door and left the two partners sitting on opposite sides of Dave's bed.

Clare cleared her throat awkwardly, reaching for her shirt to cover herself up. Suddenly being half naked in Dave's presence didn't sound so appealing. "I'm just gonna go," she said, already ready to rush out the door as the realization of what they just did- _what they almost did_- came to her.

"Clare-" His voice stopped her, just for a second, before she continued to walk towards the door.

"Get some sleep, Dave," she interrupted whatever he was about to say.

Dave lightly grabbed her wrist to get her attention, wrapping his slim fingers around her hand, and pulling her towards him. She startled and tumbled straight into his chest, wrapping her small hands around his toned biceps in order not to fall. "Clare..." He murmured, reaching out to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Clare blinked back tears at how gentle he was being with her. She pushed those emotions away- she wasn't going to explore those feelings with him right here beside her- and sighed. "Let's just forget about this, okay, Dave? I'll tell Kai it was a mistake."

Dave looked taken back by her words- and slightly hurt. "A mistake?"

She swallowed. "Yeah. I was upset and you were comforting me and- well, one thing led to another."

"One thing led to another?" He repeated before laughing at the absurbity of it all. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

Clare frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Clare, I don't think it's some secret how I feel about you. I care about you, alot more than I should as a partner, even as a roommate. You make me feel like a nervous teenage boy on my first date all over again." She smiled slightly. "I'm attracted to you, that much is clear. You're beautiful, any guy can see that. But it's so much more than that. Somewhere between these past two years of working with you, I fell in love with you."

Clare gasped softly. "Dave..."

Dave continued as if she didn't interrupt. "I can't just be your friend anymore, not after tonight. I know we are in a tough situation, with both of our jobs on the line if we do this, but I love you too much to not give this, give us, a shot." He laced their fingers together. "I've never wanted anything more than I want this."

Clare stared up at him, her eyes growing more misty by the second. "Dave, I've worked hard to get where I'm at." A lonely tear made it's way down her cheek. "I can't just give all that hard work up for a relationship that might not work."

Dave stared back at her, a plan forming in his mind. He brought her hand to his mouth, softing pressing a kiss to her palm before skitting his lips across her knuckles.

Clare trembled, _actually trembled_, as she felt electricity run through her veins at lightning quick speed. "What are you doing, Dave?" She hated that her voice was shaky as she tried to remember how to breath. It wasn't just his touch _(though that was a big part of it)_; it was the way he was looking at her like she was his soulmate, like she was the biggest challenge in his life yet his most worthy opponent and nobody else would measure up to her in his mind. Just one look like that had butterflies erupting in her stomach.

"Tell me to stop, Clare. Tell me you don't want this and I'll never mention it again. But don't lie to me about why you won't attempt this."

Clare could hardly deny the effect he was having on her; just standing near him was sending tingles coursing through her body. "I didn't say I don't want this. I said I _can't_." He stared at her, waiting for her to explain. Clare sighed, pulling away from Dave as she needed space. "The truth is, my career is safe. Sure, I get shot at, but I know it won't break my heart." She chose her words carefully as she tried to keep the conflicting emotions out of her tone. "But you have the potential to not just break it, but shatter it into little pieces."

Dave sighed, moving behind her and putting his arms around her waist. "Clare, I'm scared too. You forget that you can just as easily break my heart as I can break yours and it's scary as hell. But if things do work out, it will be worth it. _We _are worth fighting for."

"I-"

Dave slowly spun Clare around so he could see her face, wiping away the tears rolling down her cheeks with his thumb. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she replied easily, nodding without a single trace of reluctance.

"Then trust me with your heart."

When he looked at her like that, his expression equally parts shy and determined, the love clear in his eyes, it made her feel transported through time; to a complicated time of youth where your love life was centered around oblivous crushes and nervous first dates, shy handholding and sweet first kisses. Dave made her feel younger and lighter, made all the things she shouldn't have seen or experienced in her life disappear right before her eyes.

She broke the nerve raking silence by calling his name.

Dave looked equally parts hopeful and terrified. "Yeah?"

"Kiss me."

He stared at her, surprise clear in his tone. "What?" He gulped, thinking he heard her wrong.

Clare took two steps closer to him, their chests only inches away from each other as she stood on her tippy-toes and began to pull his head down.

_ "Kiss me," _she murmured across his lips.

He didn't need to be told again.

Dave's mouth captured hers, pulling her up against him as he directed them towards his bed. He laid her on the bed, carefully, like she's a fragile doll, without tearing their lips apart. But Clare pulled her lips away with a gasping breath when he began to take her shirt off again.

"Dave..."

Dave studied the woman he loved laying in his bed, her chest moving rapidly as she tried to find words. He studied her eyes and nodded in agreement when he saw the hesitation mixed with the lust.

"Not tonight," he finished for her.

"I want to," Clare was quick to try and explain.

Dave pecked her lips once, twice, three times softly to shut her up (that and he couldn't stay away from her after getting a taste). "But you want to make sure this is real."

"I don't want to wake up and realize this was all a big dream."

He flipped them again and her head rested on his chest, right on top of his heart, half of her body on top of his. "It's not a dream, Clare. But we'll just sleep tonight," he kissed the top of her head. "And tomorrow, when you realize this is all real, I'm going to take you out on a date."

Clare stared up at him, her blue eyes sparkling clear with loving tears. "I love you, Dave."

Their lips met in a slow, loving kiss, not letting things get too heated.

"I love you too, Clare."

They slept better than either of them had in a long time, cuddled together with their limbs tangled and their hands intertwined together.

That's how the team found them in the morning, and, after Kai pretended to fake gag at the sight, they all shared a knowing smile. They had known this was bound to happen between the two partners eventually.

After all, it was inevitable.

**Was it terrible? Even if it was, please just send a quick review to tell me!**


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